ℹ️ This corpus has no verse-level morphological tagging. Lemmas come mainly from word-level tagging of other books in the same language (not from this verse), falling back to dictionary form-matching for the rest. Rare homographs can still be misread; verify against the original and a specialist lexicon where precision matters.
ℹ️ The Chinese and English alongside are this site's own translation, made directly from the original text on this page (not the CUV or the WEB, which follow the Masoretic Text and a different textual tradition).
For just as in the case of the body taste and sight are distinct senses, so also, according to the 'divine senses' spoken of by Solomon, one thing would be the visual and contemplative power of the soul, and another the gustatory and perceptive power of the quality of the intelligible foods.
And since the Lord, insofar as he is the living bread that came down from heaven, is tasteable, being nourishing to the soul, but insofar as he is Wisdom, is visible — of whose beauty he who says 'I became a lover of her beauty' confesses himself to be a lover (and he commands us, 'Love her, and she will keep you') — for this reason it is said in the Psalms, 'Taste and see that the Lord is good.'
And its 'tasteable' aspect is established by 'There are some of those standing here who shall not taste death,' and what follows; while its 'visible' aspect is established by 'If anyone keeps my word, he shall not see death forever.'
And he tastes death — and not only tastes it but is also gorged, as with food, on death — who brings forth words contrary to the words of eternal life.
And there is a promise that some of those standing in the intelligible place shown by Jesus shall not taste death; for observe that the three evangelists, in the words 'There are some of those standing here' or 'There are some of those standing here,' have said together, concerning those about whom they also wrote, that 'They shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom,' or 'in his glory,' or 'until they see the kingdom of God having come in power.'
And since it was said, as though it were possible for the one standing to fall, 'Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall,' for this reason it is written, not concerning all who stand, but concerning some, the words 'Truly I say to you...'
'There are some of those standing here.' So then, one who stands does not taste death, as long as he keeps his standing; but one who has received the word and keeps it shall not see death.
If then there is a certain difference between tasting death and seeing death, the Jews, as unintelligent hearers, confusing the word of the Lord, said, instead of 'he shall not see death,' 'he shall not taste death,' falling down to the inferior sense in the saying. You will inquire, however, whether, just as it is possible to see death and to taste death, so also, according to the remaining senses, it is possible either to hear death or to smell death or to touch death. For if the hands of the apostles touched concerning the word of life, might not the hands of false apostles and deceitful workers, transforming themselves into angels of righteousness, touch concerning the word of death? And if the sheep of Christ hear his voice, might not those sheep that are not his — to whom he might say, 'You are not of my sheep' — hear the voice of death?
See whether there is not an odor of death in the wounds that come from sin, concerning which it is said, 'My wounds stink and are corrupted'; and an odor of death was in Lazarus before he rose from the dead — which odor the apostles, not wishing to smell it, said to the Savior, 'Lord, by now he stinks.'
'For he is four days dead.' But regarding the intelligible odor of death or the odor of life, it will be necessary to observe the apostolic saying, which runs thus: 'We are the fragrance of Christ to God in every place, among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.' For those who are in Christ are, in every place, a fragrance of Christ and in no way a stench.
But since, just as bodily fragrance is said to destroy certain animals, so also, on account of the wickedness that has preceded, the fragrance of Christ might become, for some, a fragrance from death to death for them, while for others it turns out to be a fragrance from life to life.
After this, the Jews, not perceiving how greatly Christ surpasses the patriarchs and the prophets, but not even believing that it is Christ who teaches such great things, express perplexity, saying:
'Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?' But they do not see that he who was born of the virgin is greater not only than Abraham but than everyone born of women, and that he who was prophesied by all the prophets is greater than all the prophets, and that he who gave life to those who died is greater than the dead — he not having made himself such, but having received it from the Father.
For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son to have life in himself — the Son not being able to do anything at all of himself, and seeking not his own will but the will of him who sent him. And 'Whom then do you make yourself?' was the voice of those who had not perceived that Jesus did not make himself what he is.
Wherefore it also seems to me that, in answer to this, teaching who made him what he was, he says: 'If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is the Father who glorifies me.'
And these things — since the twentieth volume of the Commentaries on the Gospel according to John has now received a sufficient conclusion — let it receive its conclusion here, so that, God revealing things to us, we may consider what follows in the volume after this, beginning from 'Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.'